Inhaled mometasone furoate reduces oral prednisone requirements while improving respiratory function and health-related quality of life in patients with severe persistent asthma ☆ ☆☆

Abstract Background: Inhaled corticosteroid therapy in severe persistent asthma has been shown to reduce or eliminate oral corticosteroid (OCS) use while retaining effective asthma control. Objective: We sought to evaluate the ability of mometasone furoate (MF) delivered by means of dry powder inhaler to reduce daily oral prednisone requirements in OCS-dependent patients with severe persistent asthma. Methods: We performed a 12-week, double-blind, placebocontrolled trial (21 centers, 132 patients) comparing 2 doses of MF (400 and 800 μg administered twice daily) with placebo, followed by a 9-month open-label phase in which 128 patients received treatment with MF. Results: At the endpoint of the double-blind trial, MF 400 and 800 mg twice daily reduced daily OCS requirements by 46.0% and 23.9%, respectively, whereas placebo increased OCS requirements by 164.4% ( P Conclusion: MF inhaled orally as a dry powder is an effective alternative to systemic corticosteroids in patients with severe persistent asthma. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2000;106:852-60.)